By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The Carmel boys basketball team dropped a tough game to Cathedral 51-48 at the Eric Clark Activity Center.
The Greyhounds got off to a solid start against the Irish, one of the top teams in Class 3A. Carmel led 15-8 after one quarter, with Alex Couto nailing three 3-pointers on his way to 12 points. Aidan Dickerson also hit a triple. Cathedral came back in the second quarter, tying the contest at 22-22 by halftime.
The second half was the close for the entire time, although both teams held four-point leads at various points. The Irish were up 31-27 in the third quarter before Carmel made a 7-0 run: Couto made a 3 and a layin, then Evan Harrell’s layin got the ‘Hounds up 34-31.
Cathedral’s Brady Koehler hit two free throws with 1:09 left, but Harrell got the last basket of the third quarter, a jumper to put Carmel ahead 36-33. The Irish quickly went up 38-36 to begin the fourth quarter before Liam Mann tied the game with a basket.
With that, a short back and forth began until Harrell’s and-1 put Carmel up 43-42, then Julian Vogt drained a 3 to give the Greyhounds a 46-42 lead. But Cathedral went on a 6-0 spurt to lead 48-46 and would not trail again.
A pair of free throws from Couto tied the game at 48-48, but the Irish’s Keaton Aldridge made a free throw to put Cathedral up 49-48. Neither team scored again until Koehler hit a free throw with 8.7 seconds left, then the Irish’s pressure forced a Carmel turnover.
“When opportunity comes, we’ve got to be ready to make plays,” said Greyhounds coach Ryan Osborn. “That’s the bottom line. I love how hard we’re playing. I love how we’re competing. I love the energy and passion that we play with. I love the team. They’re awesome kids, they play hard, they’re fun to be around.
“But we’re talking about production, and you can’t turn the ball over 16 times, and you can’t give up offensive rebounds at the wrong opportunity. We just got to be better in how you respond to these situations that tell you about your team.”
Couto scored 21 points, including four 3-pointers. Mann finished with six rebounds, while Harrell collected five. Vogt had two blocked shots.
Carmel is 6-3 and plays two home games this week, welcoming Marion Friday and Westfield on Saturday.
Be the first to comment on "Carmel falls in tight home game to Cathedral"